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Hi Birders,
Mr Broubin on 24 April wrote about a Striated Heron
at Waverton Park, Berrys Bay and mentioned that the bird was between 750-1000
metres away from mangroves at Berrys Head, as if mangroves were the habitat that
the bird favours. However, mangroves are only one of the habitats that the bird
utilises in coastal NSW. Here on the NSW Central Coast we have two large
waterways, Brisbane Waterwhich has large seagrass beds and extensive mangrove
forests, and plenty of oyster racks. Further north is Tuggerah Lakes where there
are no mangroves, but plenty of sea grass beds and extensive stands of Swamp Oak
Casuarina glauca and Broad-leafed Paperbarks Melaleuca quiquinerva
fringing the lakes. The Straited Heron is equally at home in both
waterways, nesting in mangroves and Swamp Oaks in Brisbane Water and in Swamp
Oaks and Melaleucas in Tuggerah Lakes. To my way of thinking the change in name
from Mangrove Bittern to Straited Heron was correct as the bird is found in many
estuarine habitats not just mangroves.
Alan Morris
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